53 arrested in Lemon Grove trolley sweep

LEMON GROVE  San Diego County law enforcement arrested 53 people during a probation compliance check in Lemon Grove Friday.

The enforcement sweep, which was conducted between 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday near the trolley station, involved sheriff's deputies, probation and parole agents, along with code compliance officers from MTS checking to make sure 3,300 trolley riders had paid their fares.

The operation, dubbed "Operation Lemon Drop," led to 119 trolley citations and about 100 searches of known probationers. Nine were found violating the terms of their probation. Twenty-two people were arrested for felonies, the Sheriff's Department reported, and 31 for misdemeanors.

Operation Lemon Drop

Total Arrests:53

Felony: 22

Misdemeanor:31

Field Interviews:73

Trolley Citations:119

Probation Violations:9

The goal was to identify and contact prolific offenders and their associates, the department said in a statement about the arrests. Deputies and investigators looked at who was arrested and when possible, they looked to see if the offenders are linked to existing crime cases. The information is meant to help decide when and where to allocate resources for keeping the county's neighborhoods safe. Many of the arrestees were under county supervision under the state's realignment policy.

Realignment, a policy that required counties to assume responsibility for housing and monitoring certain lower-level offenders, went into effect in 2011. The policy was a response to a federal court order for California to reduce overcrowding in its prisons.